A lot of bow questions

[police women of America]

So I'm super exited, I'll be buying my first bow in a couple days! It's a Quest and it can pull from 15-70 pounds. So I have a lot of questions and appreciate any advice. So first how do I tell which kind of arrow I need? Do you base it by what weight your pulling? I'm probably going to ask the workers at Cabelas when I go in but I would like to know something about it so I'm not helpless when it comes to the details.
Will I be able to hunt Turkey and Elk with that weight range? What kind of maintenance do I need to do for my bow? And lastly do you take it into a shop to get the weight changed? I'm hoping to buy a scale and do it myself later in the year.
Thanks!

[police women of America]

Also It's a Compound bow.

[RadSav]

Those are nice easy to shoot bows!  Arrow size is based on poundage, arrow length, draw length and point weight.  Cabela's can get you started, but I would find a pro-shop that you like for detailed information and tech work.  Not sure where you are located, but most of the shops in the Seattle area have loyal followers.  You just can't get that level of detailed service from a busy box store.

There is really no problem with starting out shooting an arrow a little stiff knowing you will likely increase in poundage rapidly once you start shooting.  While they may not be "Optimum" in matching spine to bow they usually are more durable.  You will appreciate that when you first start   Also, don't spend a bunch on arrows just yet.  Cheap Beman or off brand will work just fine until you get to know the bow and your strengths a little better.

Yes, you can certainly adjust the poundage yourself without needing a shop to do so.  I actually recommend you do it yourself.  When my wife  started shooting we started off with a very light poundage she could shoot without any struggles at all.  Learning how to shoot and get comfortable with how everything worked was far more important.  We then increased the weight 1/4 turn each week until it became a strain.  Then slowed the rate of increase until we hit legal hunting weight.  Now she can shoot 60#, but we settled in at about 52#.  She shoots it better and enjoys shooting it more.  And if you enjoy shooting you will practice more leading to higher success...she is pretty successful!

[theleo]

There's more experienced people on here than me but I'll chime in. Your arrow choice is based off the length of arrow you'll be shooting, the poundage of your bow, and the weight of the point (field points or broadheads). Once you've got the spine figured out then you can decide what arrow you want. I'd get some cheaper ones for now (looser tolerances) because you're going to lose some, it's the nature of the beast when you're starting out. You can hunt turkey and elk with that bow but there are legal minimums to poundage you're bow can be set at. You shouldn't have to go to a bow shop to change your poundage, as most compounds it's just a matter of loosening or tightening a couple of allen bolts. For maintenance I'd get string wax, a set of standard allen wrenches, and a bar of ivory soap if you are shooting into tagets where your arrows become hard to pull.

[police women of America]

Thanks for the advice guys!! Very helpful

[lokidog]

As both responders have said, you don't have to go to a pro shop to adjust the draw weight, however... I think the easiest way to get a bow out of tune, at least from my experiences with my own, is to not turn the limb bolts the exact same amount. Put marks on your bolt heads and limbs that line up, then be sure to try to turn them the exact same amount. Also, don't go and buy an expensive scale, a fish scale will work just fine, especially if it has a bar that stays at the maximum weight.

[Special T]

If your up north just join silver arrow bowmen In mount vernon and come shoot! We have a scale in the clubhouse.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

[RadSav]

Does anyone have any experience with the Barnet Vortex hunter, I like the price as a first "real" bow for my youngest girl.  The draw weight of 45-70 with a 60-70% let off works and the draw length of  21-27 inches works as well.

Sounds like you have the Vortex Hunter and the Vortex values mixed.  'Hunter is 45-60#/26-30".  Vortex is 19-45#/21-27"

How old is this young lady?  45-70# seems like an awful lot on the low end for a young lady.  26" would be long for a young lady as well.  $150 sounds like a great value, but if she can't shoot it comfortably at 45# the value is lost.  It's very likely she will never shoot it at more than 50#.  Might take that into consideration before purchasing.

As for the bow...it's fine for $150.  It's a much improved Barnett since the Plano/Synergy Outdoors acquisition.  But it is a $150 bow.  Don't expect too much and you will be pleased.  I've seen much worse!

Warning: There are inherent issues with the way they are packaged.  Inspect carefully making sure nothing is broken before purchasing.

[police women of America]

I just got my bow! And I want to adjust the draw weight to make it lighter. Which it has instructions how but when I turn it how much lighter will each turn go? It's set at 40 pounds right now.

[RadSav]

Of course it changes depending on how much preload is left or already put into the limb.  But, a good approximate rule is about 3# for every complete turn.  Just be careful to adhere to the manufactures warning on how many turns you can take out of the limb bolt.  I've had heli-coils let loose before...not much fun!

[police women of America]

Of course it changes depending on how much preload is left or already put into the limb.  But, a good approximate rule is about 3# for every complete turn.  Just be careful to adhere to the manufactures warning on how many turns you can take out of the limb bolt.  I've had heli-coils let loose before...not much fun!

Ok Thanks! they didn't give much instructions on it but I guess I'll have to go to there site and look into it.

[lokidog]

Just turn each out a half turn, or a full turn to start, and then check the weight with a fishing scale until it is where you want it.  Some bows have a hole in the side of the limb pocket so you can see if the bolt is coming too far out, when you can see the end of the bolt.

[RadSav]

Ok Thanks! they didn't give much instructions on it but I guess I'll have to go to there site and look into it.

I'm assuming you got the Radical.  If so then there should be little worry about backing the limbs off.  You can see where the limb bolt comes out of that black steel rod mounted in the handle.  I doubt you will ever get there, but you should be able to back that bolt all the way to a point where the bolt is flush with that rod.  That likely is the 15# lower end.  The bow won't feel or shoot very well at 15#, but it should be safe.  I expect with your build you should be able to start closer to the 25-30# range without difficulty.  And you will be up to 40# in no time!

If you are at 40# now and the bow is rated to 15# you should be able to back it off three full turns easily.  Just watch the end of that bolt stopping if it looks like it will disappear into that black rod.

[police women of America]

Ok Thanks! they didn't give much instructions on it but I guess I'll have to go to there site and look into it.

I'm assuming you got the Radical.  If so then there should be little worry about backing the limbs off.  You can see where the limb bolt comes out of that black steel rod mounted in the handle.  I doubt you will ever get there, but you should be able to back that bolt all the way to a point where the bolt is flush with that rod.  That likely is the 15# lower end.  The bow won't feel or shoot very well at 15#, but it should be safe.  I expect with your build you should be able to start closer to the 25-30# range without difficulty.  And you will be up to 40# in no time!

If you are at 40# now and the bow is rated to 15# you should be able to back it off three full turns easily.  Just watch the end of that bolt stopping if it looks like it will disappear into that black rod.

Thanks! I did get a radical. I ended up pulling back the  40 pounds just fine I was just afraid of breaking the bow because this was my first time using a compound. But my dad got me to do it and it worked great
thanks for explaining it! I'm going to be changing the weight today.